Does your organisation have the talent to secure growth?

Globally 63% of organisations have gone through, or in some cases are still going through, significant reductions in their workforce. Many of these organisations did not base their workforce cuts on individual performance or careful planning, but rather on those who responded to voluntary redundancy options and retirement offers. This means many organisations unfortunately have a situation where they are no longer ideally suited to assemble a team of top performers who are able to drive growth.

Companies that are now, after downsizing, planning to execute a growth strategy may be placing too much stress on existing employees and their skills. In many organisations employees are under pressure to increase productivity whilst taking on the workload of colleagues who are no longer there. Very often employees are asked to perform tasks they are not experienced or skilled to do, which can cause mistakes, spurring stress and anxiety in many cases.

In order to gear your company for growth, in reality, you need a team of star players who will take you to the next level. These employees will be the ones who are truly at the top of their profession and who have immaculate work ethic, they will challenge themselves and their teams and would not settle for anything but a win. Unfortunately you cannot expect to successfully execute a high growth strategy without a less than top-notch team. And by top-notch I mean, experience, skills and a high performance attitude.

For a business to attract such individuals they too have to be top-notch, with the right attitude and effective operational processes - using best practice at all times. High performing individuals look for personal growth opportunities, good remuneration packages and a chance to soar. Red-tape and ‘ok’ is not words often used positively in a high performer’s vocabulary. These individuals set themselves apart by their work ethic, passion and forward thinking manner.

Securing talent for growth is not just about selecting those with good skills it’s about identifying individuals who have the right characteristics and personality traits. To successfully execute a growth strategy it is important for Executives to pursue an all encompassing Human Capital strategy across four interrelated areas. These areas include leadership, talent, culture and organisational structure.

With this type of strategy, the coaching and mentoring of potential leaders is very important. Very often the most successful personal growth plans include comprehensive coaching and mentoring aspects, where line managers and senior leaders thoroughly prepare individuals for a leadership position before they are promoted. Providing new leaders with practical, hands-on experience and skills to effectively manage their teams will help encourage the development of growth drivers within business units.

Having the correct attitude, skills and experiences (enhanced through coaching, mentoring and formal training) ensures that the individual has the tools and skills to do a good job, which will minimise work pressure, anxiety and stress for both the individual and the team they will lead or work in. It also minimises risk and has the potential to assist your business in maximising its growth strategy.

A well rounded Human Capital strategy, underpinned by talent, organisational culture and an effective operational model is a good foundation for the execution of a sustainable growth strategy.